Monday February 17th
-U.S. markets were closed for Presidents Day
Tuesday February 18th
New York Fed Manufacturing Survey
-fell to 4.48 down from 12.51 the month before
-was expected to fall but only to around 8
-new orders were near 0 but anything above 0 shows expansion
-this survey is used to forecast the health of the national industrial sector which is slowing down considerably
Wednesday February 19th
Building Permits & Housing Starts
-housing starts fell 16% due to weather which is the biggest drop in 3 years
-new permits dropped 5.5% which is the 3rd month of declines
-may signal slow growth and weakness in the housing market
Producer Price Index (PPI)
-rose 0.2% which was more than the 0.1% that was expected
-measures the average change over time in selling prices received by producers for their output
-lament terms it measures price change from a seller’s perspective
-core prices were up 0.2%
-this is a better gauge of long term inflationary pressures because they exclude volatile categories such as food and energy that may skew the number
Thursday February 20th
Initial Jobless Claims
-fell 3,000 to 336,000 which is right around what was expected
-this may point to steadily improving labor market conditions
Consumer Price Index (CPI)
-rose 0.1% which was in line with expectations
-shows that inflation remains mild
-core rose 0.1% which excludes categories such as food and energy
-Inflation is at 1.6% which is below the Fed’s target of 2%
-inflation was held back by slow economic growth and a poor job market
-if inflation continues this stagnate pace it may cause the Fed to extend its stimulus
Leading Indicators
-an outlook of the next 3 to 6 months
-a good indicator of overall strength of the economy
-includes new orders, jobless claims, money supply, average workweek, building permits, stock prices, and many more
-rose 0.3% which is around what was expected
Friday February 21st
Existing Home Sales
-Fell to an 18 month low
-Sales dropped 5.1% to a rate of 4.62 million units
-could be a result of mortgage rates rising and home prices outpacing income growth